Touchstone
by Evidence
Summary: Sequel of Nevermore, cousin Thomas and Samantha have their hands full at the courthouse. JS
1. Default Chapter

Title: Touchstone

Author: Evidence

Chapter: 1

Rating: PG-13

Author's Notes:  A sequel to "Nevermore".  Thomas Spade, cousin to Samantha is a main focal point. The title comes form the Shakespearean character of a clown.  And I just used it because I liked it. *G* Thanks to D and Maple Street.

He was in the middle of a surreal dream when the buzz from his small black alarm clock told him it was time to get up.  Shifting in the warm bed and opening his eyes to the sun streaming in, Thomas Spade sighed audibly.  He hated mornings.  He slowly meandered out of bed and to the bathroom.  The water felt refreshing as it hit his face waking him up further.   

So much had changed for him since he went through the Franklin Podena fiasco.  His cousin Samantha had secured him a job as a day janitor at the courthouse.  He had been booze free and cigarette free for weeks.  He had a girlfriend that didn't mind his quirkiness that some would consider strange.  Life for once was good.  

"Morning guys," he said to the hamsters Shauna had bought him.  Sam and Jack he had named them although they were both males.  He put some feed into their dish and changed the water.  "There you go."

He buttoned up his janitor uniform as he put two slices of wheat toast in his silver toaster.  He opened up a new container of milk and poured himself a glass.  When the toast was done he walked around the small kitchen and eat.  He never looked at the paper nor the TV news.  He knew that the media were paid by the members of a higher order to only give out some information.  The real, hidden truth was not known to the average person.  The thought made Thomas shudder.

The phone rang as it always did.  With a smile he picked it up.  "Hello."

"Hey Thomas!"  Shauna's voice beamed back to his ears.  "Good morning.  Are you all set for work?"

"Yes, I'm dressed and ready to go.  How's the bakery?"

Shauna ran the family bakery, McClaine's, and was making bread at 4 in the morning everyday.

"Good, we have already had a lot of customers.  The cinnamon rolls are selling extremely well this morning."

"That's great.  Are we still on for lunch?"  His heart skipped a beat as he asked.

"Of course, I'll meet you at the courthouse cafeteria at noon.  I better go, more customers.  Love you."

"I love you, too."  He hung up a warm feeling in his soul to start off his day.   He had never thought anyone as great as Shauna would care for him given how strange he could be but she was eccentric to a degree and somehow it all worked out for them.

Thomas had been moping the main corridor floor when he felt a hand on his shoulder.  He turned quickly to see his cousin Samantha smiling at him.  She was dressed in a blue skirt suit and had her blonde mane pulled back.

"Samantha!  What's up?"  He asked glad to see her.

"I have to testify on a case today so here I am.  How's the hamsters?"

"Great.  I haven't killed them yet."

Sam laughed.  "Please don't.  I want my first namesake to be around for a while."

Thomas grinned.  "I haven't seen Jack lately, how is he?"

The color drained out of Samantha's face.  "Oh ...  things haven't been going well.  He asked for the divorce from Maria and then...everything got crazy."

"Crazy how?"

Sam bit at her lower lip deciding which personal information of Jack's she should reveal to her cousin.  Tommy had been through hell and back though and now was a model citizen.  Maybe she should tell him the truth, she reasoned, sometimes what he came out with was nuts and other times it ended up making perfect sense.

"When Hanna discovered Jack was leaving she...she tried to kill herself."

Thomas nearly dropped the mop he was holding.  "Holy..."

"It's a bad situation right now."  The tears welled at her eyes.

"Jack's guilt must be weighing on him."  
  


"His guilt?"

"Not being able to save his mother and driving his daughter to this."

"He didn't pursue her to do anything!"  Sam's voice rose in anger.

"No, but his actions led her to this."

Samantha was aghast.  "I can't believe you would say this Tommy.  I thought you supported Jack and I."

"I do, don't get me wrong but I can see where Jack feels guilty.  He's going to have to help his daughter before you two can be together.  I'm sorry."  He touched her arm.

"You should have seen his face when he got the call.  All the life was drained out of him."

"You were with him?"  Thomas asked.

"Yeah he was at my place."

"Sam..."  Thomas shook his head.  "He doesn't have the divorce yet."

"Well he was trying to get it.  And don't make me feel more guilty than I already do."  She rubbed at her temple.

"Guilt is a hard thing to live with," Thomas replied.  "I better get back to work but call me okay?"

Samantha nodded her head.  "Yeah I will.  Have a good day."  She headed off to court, her face still wet with tears and a slump in her shoulders.

Thomas went back to the task of mopping the floor when his eyes caught hold of a blacked suited man with thick glasses entering the area.  Something about the man was vaguely familiar but he couldn't place the information.  Probably some alien investigator, he thought with a shrug.

The time went by slowly until noon approached and he could put his cleaning materials away.  Her heard her voice before he saw her.  "Hey!"

"Hey," he responded, showing a bright smile.  

She handed up a worn out book.  "Brought you a new book seeing you finished "The Stranger" already."  She gave him a quick kiss on the lips.

"Excellent.  Oh this book is great- I read it long ago."  He leafed through the copy of  "The Confidence Man".

"Oh good.  You always like the books but...I don't want to give you one that you end up going "yuck" over."

"Would never happen."  He took her arm and walked her down to the cafeteria.  Samantha was there eating all alone.  "Why don't we sit with my cousin."

Shauna's face dropped.  "Oh well I was hoping for some alone time with you.  There's something I wanted to tell you."

"How often do I see Samantha though?  Please."  He gave her a frown.

"Okay, fine."  She shook her head unable to resist him.

"Hey," Sam said as they approached.

"Mind if we join you?"  Thomas asked.

"Please do," Samantha said.

"I'll grab you a tray, you can chat with Samantha," Thomas said.  Shauna replied with a nod.

Thomas moved up to the food area ignoring the potatoes he knew that were laced with toxic pesticides set to control your mind and kill you at 45, and settled on the turkey slices and salad.  He was just about to grab two sodas when a sound erupted through the building.  A blast of some kind had gone off almost immediately followed by screams and shoots.  

"He's got a bomb!" drifted through the cafeteria.

Thomas eyes meant Shauna's scared ones and then over to Sam's.  The Spades both knew what they had to do.

To be continued...


	2. Chapter 2

Title: Touchstone

Author: Evidence

Chapter: 2

Rating: PG-13

Author's Notes: Thanks to D (who BTW doesn't beta these so any errors are my own don't blame her but she cheerleads me along) and Maple Street.

"Oh God, what's happening?"  Shauna asked beginning to shake.

Thomas swiftly threw the table over that Shauna and Samantha had been sitting at.  "Get behind it okay."

"Tommy, don't do anything foolish," Shauna said as both Thomas and Samantha helped her get behind the table.  

"I won't, don't worry.  I'm not leaving you now that I found you," he said trying to smile and hoping it wouldn't be the last time he smiled at her.

Chaos had erupted throughout the cafeteria.  The ladies serving the lunches in their hair nets had vanished.  Lawyers were running about trying to find a way out of the building.  A judge was praying in the corner.

Thomas and Samantha moved swiftly to the outside corridor.  In the middle of the floor a let off bomb sat, smoke streaming from it.  There was no major damage but down the backend stood a man, explosives on his chest.  A man with big rimmed glasses and a black suit.

"I saw him Sam, I saw him earlier today."  Thomas whispered in her ear.

"It can't be…" Sam said staring at the figure.

"You recognize him too?  I thought I knew him but I couldn't place where."

Sam swallowed.  "Thomas, that man was Susan Shepard's boyfriend.  He was on all the news when she went missing."

"Franklin Podena killed Susan Shepard.  I saw it happen.  That's where I saw him- on the news."  Thomas felt his mouth go dry.

"Jeffrey…Jeffrey Gibbs.  He had a breakdown after she was never found."

"Sure looks like he's still having a breakdown now," Thomas said staring at the man.

The courthouse security were moving into position.  

"Okay, Sam what should we do?" Thomas asked but Sam never got to answer the question.

"I do his bidding!  I do his will!  I die for all of you!"  And with those words Jeffrey Gibbs pulled a cord and soon the world around was red, yellow, and bright.

Thomas and Samantha fell backwards, the blast sending them back into the cafeteria.  Thomas's eyes opened before closing to the dark.

The room was white so pristine white.  No windows to jump from, no shades to hang around your neck.  Nothing to hurt yourself with except memories and feelings that one could not get away from.  Jack Malone sat in his daughter's room holding her hand as she mumbled in her sleep from the drugs she had been given.  He looked at her so young but now so old as well as she ventured into young adult hood the hard way.  He didn't now what to tell her, what to say.  He needed to leave.  He needed to be with Sam.  But he loved Hanna so much.  It was ironic- drugs were calming her and helping her to sleep when they were what almost killed her.

i "Hanna?  Are you here?  Mrs. Holstein said you left her daycare.  Hanna?"  He called from the bottom of the stairs.

He looked around – not in the kitchen, not in the living room.  He bounded up the stairs not really fearing anything yet- figuring she probably had her head phones on and couldn't hear him.  He moved to her bedroom door and saw first the bottle of pills and then her body lying still.

"Hanna!"  He yelled falling to his knees next to her.  She had a pulse- thready though.  He somehow dialed 911 from his cell and held his baby in his arms until the ambulance arrived.

It was hell all over again but this time this Malone woman survived. /i

Jack kissed the top of her head and closed his eyes leaning back in the green chair, the only amount of color in the room.

"Tommy, wake up!"  He heard Shauna's voice drifting through the darkness.

His eyes opened slowly but he felt no pain.  He looked at Shauna staring down at him, tears on her cheeks running like rivers.  "I'm okay," he said softly, lifting his hand to wipe away the tears.  He turned his head, Sam was just coming awake.

"Damn it all!"  Sam said moving to a sitting position.  

"He probably was infected with armacase," Thomas said sitting up now too.

"Armacase?"  Samantha asked.

"It's a mind altering drug used by foreign diplomats to gain control of the United States of America."

"Oh Tommy…" Sam said half laughing and half sighing.

A crashing sound was heard in the distance.

"What was that?"  Shauna asked.

"We have to get out of here; the building is probably unstable due to the explosion."  Samantha looked around- the hall leading out to the cafeteria was rumble.  "Come on, there has to be a back entrance."

"Come on people," Thomas called, grabbing Shauna's hand and following Samantha out the back.

Through two metal doors the survivors ran covered in dust, tears and fright into the afternoon light.

"How did this happen?"  One lawyer asked.  "There are metal detectors everywhere."

Thomas looked at Samantha, she shook her head.  Somehow, someway one man had just gotten away with murder and suicide.

Jack walked down the corridor sipping a cup of water.  He could hear muffled yelling from one of the rooms on the pysch ward.  Instinctively he peered into the small window of the room.  Two hospital staffers were trying to hold down a man.  As they moved away from the man's face- Jack got a clear view of who was in that bed.  He then heard his own name yelled in a muffled tone.

To be continued…


	3. Chapter 3

Title: Touchstone

Chapter: 3

Author: Evidence

Rating: PG-13

Author's Notes:  Thanks to D and the Maple Street crew.

The sound of his name being said from that man's mouth made Jack's stomach twist in a knot.  He watched satisfied as restraints were put around the man's arms and legs.  There was still an evil glint in his eye but now he looked even more mentally mad.  The scars were faded that were once burned on his flesh.  His scars were gone while Samantha's were still present:  facial scars that plastic surgery had to fix, skin that was never the same on her arm- skin he couldn't bring himself to touch.  That bastard had done that to her, had hurt her emotionally and physically.  It was all Jack could do not to break down the door, enter the enclosure and kill Franklin Podena with his bare hands.

"Hey!"  Danny's voice echoed out into the crowd and Sam turned to see him run over.  He gave her a friendly hug and one to Thomas and Shauna as well.  "Thank God you guys are alright.  When I heard about the courthouse..."

"I know, it was very scary," Samantha replied with a shake of her head.

"The guy was infected with something- normal man don't blow themselves up," Thomas added.

"Maybe an alien disease," Danny replied with humor.

Thomas answered seriously, "It could have been."

"Tommy, can you take me home, please?"  Shauna asked her skin white under smoke.

"Once the EMTS give you a clean bill of health."

"I'm fine really, I just want to lie down."

Thomas looked to Sam for guidance.  "Um, Shauna have a doctor take a quick look. Okay?"  Sam smiled.

Shauna sighed defeated by the Spades.  "Okay."

"Here let me bring you over and move you to the front of the line," Danny said with a grin, "I'll just flash my badge."  Danny put his arm gently around Shauna and walked her away to the EMT station.

"Are you okay?"  Thomas asked the worry set in his face.  Samantha had already been in an explosion once before thanks to Franklin Podena.

"I'm fine," Samantha shrugged but gently touched her left arm.  She could still see the flash of red, yellow, orange light.  She could still feel the pain when she closed her eyes.  She could small the burnt flesh when she first woke in the morning.  "I hope there aren't too many casualties."

Jack Malone was oblivious to the tragedy and chaos befalling the courthouse.  He had been stunned to see Franklin Podena even though somewhere in the recesses of his mind he knew that Podena had been transferred to that facility.  He was a mixture of emotions and worries since Hanna had swallowed all those pills.  And like a child wanting it's teddy bear, all he wanted was to grasp on to Sam and cry on her shoulder.  But for the time being they were once again apart.

Jack finished off his water and strode down the corridor to a meeting he was scheduled to have with Hanna's shrink.  Maria was to be there too so he already had a hollow taste in his mouth.

"Ah, Mr., Malone, take a seat," Dr. Fisher, a man about Jack's age but with less hair, greeted him warmly.

"Thank you," Jack sat down next to Maria.  "Hi."

"Hello."

"Okay let's begin shall we.  Hanna is physically getting better but I'm not sure her emotionally level is on par yet," Dr. Fisher said.

"Jack needs to come home.  Isn't that true doctor?"  Maria asked giving Jack an icy glare making him wonder why she wanted him to return at all. 

"Well…I don't think that would do any good."

Maria's head had turned so quickly Jack wondered if she had experienced whiplash.  "What?"

"Hanna is in a delicate state but it's not all do to Jack's leaving.  Hanna, we have discovered, has a chemical imbalance.  She needs medication."

Should he have felt a weight lift off his shoulders?  His actions did not necessary cause his daughter to induce death.  But she had the same problem as his mother and Jack realized that this was a problem that would never go away.  He tried to keep himself from crying.  He wasn't sure he would be able to keep his daughter safe- safe from herself.

Jeffrey Gibbs had caused damage and some general chaos but nothing, nothing like he was going to cause.  A smile crossed his lips.  His master would be so proud of him.  He saw his target, her black hair swaying slightly in the breeze as she left the EMT station.  The dark haired man who was with her left her side and in that instant he acted.  He quickly walked up and grabbed her elbow.

"I have a gun pointed at your spine.  Scream and I'll shoot, got it?"

Shauna McClaine just shook her head.  From inside she wished she could communicate as Meg and Charles Wallace had in the Wrinkle in Time Series.  To be able to get inside Thomas's head and tell him what was happening.  Instead she was pulled away, pulled away from the crowd, pulled away from the man she loved and the father of the baby growing inside her belly.

To be continued…


	4. Chapter 4

Title: Touchstone

Chapter: 4

Author: Evidence

Rating; PG-13

Author's Notes:  Thanks to D and Maple Street.  Long time, no write- I'm sorry about that I had no internet and lost the will to write. *G*

The room was dark and reeked of something rotten- eggs or fish maybe.  The floor she was laying on was cold and dirty.  Her arms killed from being tied tightly to each other around her back and her legs were resisting their tight hold.  A large strip of duck tape covered her mouth and made her breathing more difficult.  When she was five she had surgery on one of her sinuses where a tumor had laid.  She has been fortune that the cancer had not spread.  Now it seemed her luck had run out.  Since the surgery she didn't breathe as well through her nose and relied on both mouth and nose to put the necessary amount of air in her lungs.

Shauna took a deep breath through her nostrils the best she could.  She had to stay alive, she couldn't die, she couldn't let her baby die.  Tears filled her eyes but she told herself to calm down.  Tears would only add to her difficultly breathing and they wouldn't solve the problem she was in.  She felt in some ways like the mother in the Faulkner story- dead and in a box, as everyone else was living life around her.

They had spent an hour trying desperately to find her.  Searching through crowds, yelling her name, having the New York City police span out looking for her.  But they knew she hadn't been misplaced like some stuff animal a kid leaves on a train.  Shauna McClaine was missing, another case to save.

Thomas wiped at his face, he could never remember crying before, not like this.  Even Samantha's reassuring words, that she only had just disappeared, did nothing to ease his mind.  All he could think of was that he would not see her again.

"Okay, Vivian and Martin have everything set up at the office, we have all agencies on the lookout for her," Danny spoke quickly approaching Thomas and Samantha.

"Great," Samantha tried a small smile in Thomas's direction.

"Wait a minute, I thought a person had to be missing 24 hours before the FBI was called in?"  Thomas asked scanning their faces.

"Not when an abduction happens right after a terrorist threat.  Plus we knew someone grabbed her, that she didn't walk away."  Sam sighed.  "Look I'm going with Danny and canvas the surrounding area.  Stay here."

"No, I want to help."

"Tommy leave it up to us."

"No!  I love her, I can't do that."  He wiped his face with the back of his palm.  "If the aliens took her I may be able to help."

Samantha swallowed and tried to find the best words to get her point across.  "Tommy, this wasn't aliens this was someone that I believe was connected to the explosion today.  I don't think this was random."

"Well alien attacks are never random.  They hunt their prey for months, checking where they work, who they are with...they probably have been to the bakery!"

"Tommy..."

"Please, please let me do something."  His eyes pleaded with her.

She closed her eyes and thought.  "Okay, head back to headquarters and have Vivian and Martin give you some maps.  Maybe you can find somewhere nearby that...aliens or whoever would want to take her."

"Thank you," Thomas said hugging her quickly.  He hurried off to his small blue Geo prism waiting in the parking lot for him.  He would find her, he knew he could.

Jack's cell vibrated against his waist.  He moved away from a sleeping Hanna and answered it.

"Hello, Malone."

"Jack, it's Vivian.  We have a problem."

Jack rubbed at his temple.  He didn't need a problem right now.  He needed peace.  Peace and Samantha Spade.  "What is it?"

"Thomas Spade's girlfriend has been kidnapped, we believe.  She disappeared after the incident at the courthouse."

"What incident?"

"Oh...you haven't heard.  Jeffrey Gibbs, Susan Shepard's old fiancée blew himself up in the courthouse."

"What?  Sam!  Is Sam okay?"  His heart began to race.

"Yes, she's fine."  Viv answered.  "Shauna was about to have lunch with Sam and Thomas when it happened."

"Thank God."  Jack paused.  "Jeffrey Gibbs...he was unstable but why would he do that?"

"Beats us.  I guess from what Samantha was saying he was talking about pleasing someone, making some guy happy."

"Some guy?"  Jack's mind began churning.

Vivian knew.  "Jack what are you thinking?"

"I'll be in the office as soon as I can.  First I need to check something out."  He hung up, kissed Hanna on the forehead and headed out.

At the main office desk he flashed his badge.  "I need to see the list of visitors for Franklin Podena."

The receptionist quickly went to work finding the folder that contained the information the Federal Agent wanted.  She handed him the sheet that contained a few names- names of people who had visited Franklin Podena.

Jack grabbed the list quickly and scanned until he saw Jeffrey Gibbs appear before his eyes. His shoulders slumped slightly.  Then his eyes caught sight of another name.  "What the hell!  This can't be."

To be continued…


	5. Chapter 5

Title: Touchstone 

Chapter: 5

Author: Evidence

Rating: PG-13

Author's Notes: Thanks to D and Maple Street.

"What the hell were you doing at Franklin Podena's room?"  Jack asked, his face red with fury.

Father Walker sighed.  "I was there to hear his confession."

"His confession?"

"He wanted to confess his sins and that's all I can say."

"Confession my ass!"  Jack bellowed.

"Jack, you are in church can we keep the swearing to a minimum?"  Father Walker removed his glasses and wiped them.

Jack pushed back his hair with his hand.  "Podena may be implicated in an attack on the courthouse. A man who had been visiting him blew himself and some other fine citizens up today.  When I saw your name…that you had visited him…"

"You thought the worse.  Jack, I would not be susceptible to a man like Podena.  I listen only to a higher authority."

"I should have realized that," Jack said sitting in a pew.

"How's Hanna?"  Father Walker asked sitting beside him.

"The doctor's say she has a chemical imbalance.  I don't know if she'll ever be safe again.  She might try to take her life some other day."

"No one can predict the future, Jack.  Just make sure that she knows how much you love her and that you're being with Samantha won't change that fact."

Jack bit at his lower lip.  "I don't think I can be with Samantha anymore."

Father Walker leaned back in the pew.  "So in turn you will be killing yourself Jack if you throw Samantha back out of your life.  You won't have a life."

"I don't know what to do," tears sprung from Jack's reddened eyes.  "Every decision I make seems to be the wrong one."

"The only advice I can give you is to love Hanna, love yourself, and love Samantha.  You are meant to be together even though it came about through sin.  You are meant to be."

"Did He tell you that?"  Jack half grinned pointing upward.

"I think He might have," Father Walker said.

Franklin Podena laid in his hospital bed, arms strapped up, legs tied but he had never been happier.  Everything was going to work out perfectly and in one day he would have his revenge on Thomas Spade, the Spade cousin, her lover and all the citizens of New York City who had thought his reign of terror was over.

"It's just beginning," he said to the white walls that mocked him with their silence.

"Have you checked the alleys?  Aliens love to hide in alleys?"

Martin Fitzgerald wondered if Samantha had subjected him to the ratings of her cousin Thomas as some sort of comeuppance for an action of his a little while ago.  Martin had almost lost Jack and Sam their jobs and had even embroiled Vivian into the mess.  Sam had betrayed him in a full techocolor way involving lips, hands, a wall and Jack.  It took time for Martin to get over it but now that he had, he found himself trying to make up for his actions by being overly kind and dutiful.  At that very moment listening to Thomas while trying to coordinate a FBI effort was making him lose his sense of being Mr. Helpful.

"Thomas, I thank you for your ideas but please just take these push pins and when I read off a street name put the push pin it."  Martin tried to smile.

"Okay," Thomas replied grabbing the box of pushpins.  "When do we head out into the field?"

"We are not heading out into the field.  If I need to go somewhere, I will.  You have to stay here."

"No, Shauna needs me."

"Running around town yelling her name will do no good," Martin's temper began to flare.

"I can do something more than this!"  Thomas threw the pushpins.  They landed against the wall.  He hurried out past Martin.

"Thomas!"  Martin yelled.  He couldn't let him go alone.  He had promised Samantha he would watch out for him while Samantha, Vivian and Danny were out searching.  Grabbing a light jacket, Martin ran off following Thomas.

He walked along the street just like everyone else.  He saw Samantha Spade scoping out the area.  Perfect.  She was all alone expect for a few uniforms.  He walked up to her swiftly and with confidence.

"Excuse me are you Special Agent Spade?"

'Yes," she replied.

"Some man named Thomas is hollering for you over down that street."

"Great!"  She sighed.  "Thank you," she said taking off. 

He followed her, his eyes trained on her head.

She thought about what he had called her- "Special Agent Spade".  Tommy would have said "Samantha" or "Sam".  She looked up at street lamp- the reflection of the man walking behind her showed.  She turned into another alley- not the one he had said held Thomas. She hid behind the wall and waited for him to enter.  With a swift kick and a grab of his arm, she securely pinned him to the ground.

"Okay now tell me who are you and why are you playing games with me?"

To be continued…


	6. Chapter 6

Title: Touchstone

Chapter: 6

Author: Evidence

Rating: PG-13

Author's Notes:  Thanks to D and Maple Street and all of you for reading.

There was a moment when she felt that maybe it was better off to be out cold- to not know, not be aware of where you are.  Being aware meant smelling the muggy dirtiness, touching it, feeling the cold floor sweep into your once warm body.  Being aware meant knowing you and your baby could die at the whim of some mad man.  Being aware meant the fear was present in your mind; you had nowhere to put your thoughts, nothing else to concentrate on.  Shauna McClaine had wished now that he had taken the butt end of the gun to her head so she wouldn't have to have that awareness.  But that hadn't occurred so she was stuck dwelling on her situation.  She tried to recite Emily Dickinson poetry but that only served to depress her more.  So she turned her thoughts to Shel Silverstein and one particular poem "Our L was home with the flu, Lizzy our O had some homework to do, Mitchell, E, probably got lost on the way, so I'm all the love that could make it today."  In some small way it brought comfort.  For that V, that love was inside her, she just had to live through it.  Tommy would save her, she had to believe that.

*******

Thomas Spade was a man on a mission that was sure.  Martin Fitzgerald had a hard time keeping up with him as he followed him down one New York Street after another.  Martin successfully weaved in and out of the crowd of people keeping his eyes trained on Samantha's cousin.

Thomas didn't know where in the hell he was going but he couldn't sit in the office like some child.  He had to do something.  His thoughts felt tangled again like they did before Shauna entered his life.  He saw people look at him as he walked and believed fully that they were aliens.  He wanted to cry, scream, shout but he didn't dare with their beady eyes around.  He was glad he had ditched Martin for he didn't quite care for him.  Martin, to him, was nice but not anyone he felt he wanted to get to know.  It may be had nothing to do with Martin himself but probably more with the fact that Samantha had briefly dated him before getting back together with Jack.  Thomas was a huge Jack and Sam supporter so his loyalties lied with them.  

Thomas rounded a corner when he heard it.  The blast came from behind him and he turned to see a yellow bright fire dancing on the sidewalk where he had stood just a few minutes before.

Martin had sensed a rumbling under his feet before the blast occurred.  Realizing that earthquakes were not common in NYC but knowing if one happened it would be devastating, he quickly sprung into action.  He pushed the people in front of him, probably scaring them in the process for they began to run.  He had turned back to warm more people when it went off lifting him up from the ground and throwing him into a brick building.

His eyes opened briefly.  He wasn't on fire for which he was grateful but his body ached like never before.  He heard screams and saw that people needed his help but against his will his eyes closed.  Martin was out cold.

*****

The man tried to push Samantha off of him but to no avail.  

"Who are you?"  She yelled into his ear.

He grunted and left it at that.  He hoped the other part of the master's plan had gone off without a hitch.  He had failed at his role to kill Samantha Spade.  Now he was the one with handcuffs around his wrists and a gun pointed to the back of his head.

"Did you hear me?"  She yelled again.

"Special Agent Spade?"  A voice called out.

"Over here," she responded and two uniform police officers entered the alleyway.

"Who is this?"  Officer Milkin asked.

"That's what I want to know," Samantha replied and handed over the gun she found of him.  It was then she noticed the safety was off.  She gulped.  If she hadn't realized he was up to no good she would be in a body bag instead of bringing in a suspicious guy.  She knew too that this wasn't some random act of violence but that it was all connected.  And all roads led to Podena.

*****

Jack found himself back at the hospital that held both his daughter and Franklin Podena.  He showed his badge and begin heading down to the wing that housed Podena.  Maria stopped him in his tracks.

"Jack!"  

"Not now, I'm here on federal business."

"That's nice your job comes before your daughter," she spat back at him.

He had never wanted to lay a hand on his wife but at that moment if he was another man he could've slapped her.  "I was here with Hanna until all hell broke loose."

"And you have to save the world." The sarcasm was evident.

"No, it's my job to find missing people.  Thomas Spade's girlfriend is missing so that's where I was."

"Sure anything for your blonde," she eyed him with some inner anger brewing.

"It wouldn't matter if it's wasn't Sam's cousin.  How dare you insult my professionalism."

"Was it professional when you were fucking your agent," red rose to Maria's cheeks.

"I'm not going over this with you here, or now.  I have to go talk with someone.  A murderer.  But you know what I will never set foot in our old house again."  Jack moved closer as he said the final statement.

"Fine then.  But if something happens to Hanna it will be on your head!"  Some tears mingled with the angry words.

"All I can do to help her is to let her know how much I love her and I have to hope that she never tries killing herself again."

"That's all you're going to do!"

"I cannot control her every action she isn't a newborn.  I can only be there for her and I will always be.  I'm not leaving my children, Maria, I'm just leaving you."  His heart panged slightly as he said the last thought.  At one time he had cared for her.  But his feelings he once had for Maria didn't compare to what he felt for Sam: she was like the breath he needed to live.

Maria turned and abruptly left and Jack continued his journey down to Podena.

He arrived at the room with two guards standing outside.  "I'm here to see Podena," he said showing his badge.  One tall guard nodded and opened the door.  Podena was still hooked up but a smile danced on his lips.

"Jack!  I've been waiting for your visit."  The smile gleamed.

"I'm sure you have.  Let's cut the shit, what's you're little plan here Frankie?"

The smile faded.  "Don't call me that name!"

"Frankie?  Oh I'm sorry does that upset you?"  Now Jack was the one that smiled.

"He would call me that." Podena was lost in his own thoughts, his lip quivering.

"Oh yeah your daddy, right?  Right before he beat you."

"Shut up!" Podena pulled at his restraints.

"Okay here's the deal I'll shut up when you tell me what you have planned."  Jack leaned over him.

"You'll see for yourself.  It's going to be an awful day here."  The smile returned.  "You'll have a funeral to attend."

Jack clenched his fist.  "Where is Shauna, Frankie?"

"Oh not Shauna's funeral- but you can attend that one too I suppose.  I meant the funeral of your beloved, Samantha Spade."

Jack launched himself on top of him grabbing him by the throat.  "What did you plan?  Answer me!"

Podena chocked spitting up felm.  The guards entered grabbing Jack and pulling him away.

"Tell me!"  Jack yelled fighting back the guards.

"She's already dead Jack," Podena coughed.  "My friend should have taken care of her by now."

"I'll make you pay," tears streamed down Jack's face and with a whisper he repeated, "I'll make you pay."

"I can't wait...Jackie," Podena snorted.

****

Danny answered his cell promptly.  "Yeah, Taylor."

"Danny, it's Thomas."

"Thomas, is there any new information?"  Danny asked pausing against his car for a minute.

"I don't know...look I have to go find Shauna but..."

"Whoa wait a minute.  Aren't you with Martin?  You can't go looking for her on your own.  It could be dangerous to your life and Shauna's."

Thomas sighed on the other end of the pay phone.  "Danny, a bomb or something went off near headquarters.  Martin is hurt."

"What!  Oh God.... I'm on way.  Where exactly?  Thomas.... Thomas?  Thomas!"

But Thomas Spade was already gone on a mission to find Shauna who at the moment was getting the shock of her life.

****

The door swung open.  Light dancing in.  A figure approached.  Shauna looked into his eyes.  "Oh my God..."

To be continued...


	7. Chapter 7

Title: Touchstone  
  
Chapter: 7  
  
Author: Evidence  
  
Rating: PG-13  
  
Author's Notes: Thanks to D and Maple Street.  
  
"Hello, Shauna."  
  
She gulped fighting back tears. It was making sense now. Sense how the man with the bomb got past security. Lyle Mason was the senior of the two security guards, always friendly and greeting her with a warm smile. Tommy had considered him a friend. But now he stood over her, his uniform still on staring down at her with cold blue eyes. He removed the rag from her mouth.  
  
"Why are you doing this?" she asked shaking slightly.  
  
"I didn't have a choice." He moved her so that she was forced to sit up.  
  
"What do you mean?" Her stomach was in knots.  
  
"I did something years ago and Franklin Podena helped me cover it up," Mason replied. "If I don't help him now he'll tell the police."  
  
"So you would rather kill innocent people than tell your secret?" Shauna asked feeling the world as she had once knew it was crashing down around her.  
  
"I have already killed one." Mason's face grew whiter than it already was. "I didn't mean to but these things happen."  
  
"Murder doesn't just happen!"  
  
"No it doesn't," Mason replied shaking his head. "I denoted the bomb already and now for the last part of my mission." He removed his gun from its holster. "I'm sorry Shauna you seemed like a nice girl."  
  
++++  
  
There was light dancing before his eyes. He thought for sure that he could hear Danny's voice repeating his name over and over. Eventually his vision cleared and the rest of his senses returned to normal. He was in a hospital. He was sore but not in pain anymore. Danny was talking to a doctor as Vivian hovered right over to him seeing he was awake.  
  
"Martin, hey, glad to see you." She smiled at him and gently took his hand.  
  
He tried to speak but the words were not forthcoming.  
  
"Hey man," Danny said walking with the doctor to his bed. "You're going to be good as new in no time."  
  
Martin wanted to ask what was wrong with him but he couldn't find his voice. He tried to lift his right arm but it didn't budge while stiffly the left did.  
  
"I'm Doctor Kincaid," a pudgy man with a large moustache said. "You sprained both arms but the right has tendon damage. You were very lucky expect for a concussion and bruises you suffered no burns or breaks."  
  
Martin coughed and tried again to speak. "Thanks," came slowly out of his mouth. Danny and Vivian were both smiling but Martin didn't. People were injured, he knew, and here he lay with only minor problems. The FBI agent who saved himself but no one else.  
  
++++  
  
Jack crumbled in the hallway. Podena had taunted him by telling him he had ordered Samantha's murder. Jack felt his head spinning, his heart numb. It was nearly the same feeling he had felt when he saw Hanna's nearly lifeless body.  
  
His cell rang but he didn't want to answer it. Who cared if they were all dead. The ringing was insistent and Jack found himself answering it gruffly, "What?"  
  
"Jack..."  
  
Her voice sent spasms to his heart. "Oh God, oh Sam..."  
  
"What? What's the matter?" there was alarm in her voice.  
  
"I thought you were dead," he let out a gulping sigh.  
  
"Oh Jack, why?"  
  
"Podena told me he had ordered a hit on you."  
  
"He tried but I was much faster than the hitman."  
  
Jack laughed slightly. "That's my girl."  
  
"Would you like to meet my would-be-killer?" Samantha asked breathing normally herself now.  
  
"Yes, especially alone in a dark alley."  
  
"My hero," she said quietly into the phone.  
  
"I love you Sam," he answered back.  
  
"I love you, too."  
  
"Where are you right now?" he asked.  
  
"Headquarters."  
  
"On my way."  
  
He smiled as he put his phone away and headed out of the mental hospital.  
  
+++++  
  
Thomas Spade walked with conviction down the street although he had no clue where he was going. He just felt that Shauna would lead him to her. That the connection they had was so deep that he would feel where she was. It was crazy he realized somewhere in his mind- probably an alien notion put into his head but he had to pursue Shauna. He could not let her down.  
  
He continued walking and then he saw a car slow near him. It was white, old, and some sort of Chevy. In the driver's seat was a familiar face: Lyle Mason, a security guard at the courthouse.  
  
"Lyle," Thomas said moving closer.  
  
Lyle pulled out his gun and that was when he saw the blood on his uniform.  
  
"I'm sorry Thomas, I know how much you loved her," Mason was saying pointing the gun at him.  
  
"No, no," Thomas repeated tears filling his eyes.  
  
"The pain will end now," Mason told him beginning to squeeze the trigger.  
  
Thomas was full of rage and like an unleashed jungle cat he sprang forth grabbing the gun and making the shot go upward. He tore the gun from Mason's hands and pointed it back to him.  
  
"Where is she?"  
  
Mason gulped. "She's dead it's done."  
  
"Tell me where her body is then." Thomas felt like shooting him.  
  
"I'll show you get into the car."  
  
Thomas reluctantly got into the car's passenger side. He pointed the gun at Mason's temple. "Drive," he instructed for I have nothing now to live for and killing you will give me pleasure."  
  
They stopped at an abandoned warehouse. Thomas, sweating, made Mason open the door. Inside laid the bloody figure of Shauna McClaine.  
  
To be continued... 


	8. Chapter 8

Title: Touchstone  
  
Chapter: 8  
  
Author: Evidence  
  
Rating: PG-13  
  
Author's Notes: Thanks to D and Maple Street. This chapter took time for me to write. I wrote it one-way and then changed my mind and rewrote it. Thanks you for your patience. Two more chapters left to go.  
  
He had never loved anyone like he did her. He had never wanted to change so that he could have a better life with someone. He knew now the torture Jack and Samantha must have faced everyday without each other.  
  
"Get in," he ordered Lyle Mason who had turned ghostly white.  
  
"Please Thomas don't kill me," he pleaded with a sniffle.  
  
Thomas wanted to kill him, to take his life as he had taken Shauna's. Jail would be better than the thought of waking up every morning and not talking to Shauna on the phone or meeting her for lunch or loving her. He felt his finger take hold and begin squeezing on the trigger. The gun aimed at Mason's head. Then he heard it- a small grunt that nearly sounded like a wounded animal in the woods.  
  
"Shauna..." He turned his attention from Mason, relaxing his finger and moving towards Shauna's body.  
  
The grunt came again.  
  
Thomas fell to his knees his left hand searching for a pulse. It wasn't strong but it was there. Happy tears cascaded down his face and he let the gun go as he held her. "Live Shauna, don't give up. Come on my Juliet don't leave me."  
  
Mason had a choice: garb the gun and please his master or make a run for it. He choose the latter.  
  
"Hey," Thomas yelled after him.  
  
Mason ran out of the building heading to his car when a dark car and two police cars pulled up. Vivian Johnson got out and looked at Mason. Then she heard Thomas's cry for help.  
  
"Grab him," she ordered the police officers and ran into the warehouse. Thomas was clutching Shauna close to him. Her blood drenched his shirt. "Tommy, I'm here."  
  
"Oh Vivian, oh thank God, help her."  
  
Thomas could never recollect after the chain of events that occurred but he knew that Vivian had called an ambulance and they had taken Shauna away breathing for her and helping her heart to pump. Vivian's kind words kept echoing in his head, "I'm here for you."  
  
+++++  
  
The hospital scene was chaotic. Vivian was leading him around, talking to various doctors but he couldn't comprehend what they were saying. His mind was jumbled in a dream like state. Like he was a fish in a large blue ocean and the rest of life was swimming by slowly.  
  
Danny was there too. He had stayed with Martin while Vivian went back out searching for Shauna. Vivian had not found Thomas by luck. A passing motorist had seen a man in a car with a gun. Using his cell phone he phoned the police who in turn called the FBI seeing the man fit Thomas Spade's description.   
  
Somehow Vivian got Thomas to sit down calmly and wait for news on Shauna's condition.  
  
+++++  
  
"Take a seat," Jack instructed the man who worked for Franklin Podena. The interrogation room that held a warm memory for Jack and Sam now housed the both of them and one would be killer.  
  
The man sat down. He was of average height and build with balding dark hair and a sneer to his small lips.   
  
"Who are you?" Samantha asked.  
  
"The messenger of doom," he released a smile.  
  
"Really? Wow, I've always wanted to meet you," Jack said sick of these games Podena and his associates had been playing. "Guess who I am. I'm the guy who's going to make the messenger of doom's life hell."   
  
The man laughed Podena-like. "Really. I would like to see you try."  
  
Jack bit at his lip. He had to contain himself from leaping over the table and strangling this man that was hired to kill Samantha.  
  
"We have your fingerprints so it won't take long to find out who you are. If you're upfront now maybe we won't let Podena know what you said about him," Sam said with a smile.  
  
The smile on the man's face faded. "Please don't tell him I failed him."  
  
"Oh we won't tell him, we'll bring you to him. You can tell him yourself." Sam's smile grew. Checkmate buddy.  
  
"Please you can't do that..."   
  
"Then tell us what we need to know," Jack interjected.  
  
The man swallowed hard, his eyes shifting to the floor. "My name's Walter Podena. I'm Franklin's cousin."  
  
"Was Harry your father?" Jack asked.  
  
"Yes," Walter replied.  
  
Harry Podena had held the dumping ground for Franklin's victims. When Martin and Danny went after him in upstate New York, Harry Podena responded with a shotgun.  
  
"I see the apple doesn't fall far from the tree," Jack muttered to Sam.  
  
Samantha spoke, "How did this plan come into being?"  
  
Walter shifted in his seat. "I went to visit my cousin at the hospital and he told me he had a plan to seek revenge. You stole his chance to be famous."  
  
Jack and Samantha exchanged a look.   
  
Walter continued. "He asked me to get some helpers so I talked to Lyle Mason who Franklin knew a secret about and I asked Jeffery Gibbs to visit my cousin. He was so unstable he would follow any orders."  
  
"Once you got your gang together what was the plan?" Jack asked.  
  
"Jeffrey was to commit suicide at the courthouse Thomas Spade worked at, giving me the chance to grab his girl who Lyle told us visited him everyday for lunch. Jeffrey was the only one who accomplished his mission." A groan came out of Walters's mouth. "Lyle was then supposed to set a bomb off in the subway to create chaos in the city. And I had to hide Shauna in an old warehouse so that I could find you." He looked at Samantha his eyes glazed over. "My mission was to kill you."  
  
A shiver went down Sam's spine but she pretend to be not effected by his statement.  
  
"Was there anything else to the plan?" Jack asked.  
  
"Nothing he told me about."  
  
"Where is Shauna?" Sam questioned.  
  
"I can show you but she's already dead. Lyle was suppose to kill her by now."  
  
Jack's hand immediately went around Sam's shoulder as she took a deep breath. "Where's her body?"  
  
A knock on the door interrupted the interrogation. Ken Landes, an agent, poked his head in. "Excuse me but there was a call from the hospital. Agent Johnson found Thomas and Shauna. Shauna's quite bad. They don't think she'll make it."  
  
Samantha let air out of her mouth slowly. She was alive at least but if she died Thomas would never have a normal life again.  
  
"Go to the hospital, I'll finish questioning Walt here," Jack said whispering in her ear.  
  
"Thank you."   
  
Ken interjected, "We have another person under arrest, a Mr. Lyle Mason. He's on his way in now."  
  
Jack was now the one to smile. Samantha shot him a look of hope before leaving. Jack turned back to Walter Podena. "I guess Frankie P.'s plans are all fucked up now, huh?"  
  
Walter's eyes flashed with anger. "My cousin will never be forgotten."  
  
"I have to agree with you there," Jack said.  
  
++++  
  
Thomas sat in the chapel of the hospital saying a pray of his own making. He was begging the aliens to come to give Shauna a magic healing powder to bring her back to him.   
  
He spoke out loud hoping they could hear them through the walls and buzz of equipment. "Please help her. You can take me home with you if you do but just help her. She is a wonderful person she deserves to live." Tears streamed down and he brushed them back with his hand. "I would like to stay with her if I could because you see I never really lived until I met her. Just like my cousin Sam- I was in a set routine of a life until someone special entered my life. Sam and Jack never really lived until they got together. Keep them together and maybe keep me with my Shauna. At least let her live. Please."  
  
From in the doorway of the hospital Samantha watched him. He was on his knees praying to what he believed in. Yes, it was aliens but it what was what he always turned to. In his moment of absolute terror he took the time to wish her relationship with Jack well.   
  
Sam entered and put her hand on his shoulder. He jumped at the touch thinking he was alone. He turned to look at her his face still wet. Sam bent down with him and his arms immediately went around her, the tears flowing again.  
  
"I'm scared, Sam," he said.  
  
"I know, Tommy, I know."  
  
"Excuse me," a voice said interrupting them. A doctor stood in his scrubs a clipboard in hand. He had dark curly hair, height and a strong jaw. "I was told I could find you here, Mr. Spade."  
  
"Yes..." Thomas said standing. "How's Shauna?"  
  
"I have good news and bad news."  
  
To be continued... 


	9. Chapter 9

Title: Touchstone  
  
Chapter: 9  
  
Author: Evidence  
  
Rating: PG-13  
  
Author Notes: Thanks to D and the gang at Maple Street. One chapter left- whew.  
  
Thomas's mouth went dry. Good news and bad news, that's what the doctor had said. "Please tell me the good news first."  
  
The doctor nodded his head. "Shauna is still pregnant with your child."  
  
"Pregnant?" A smile appeared on Thomas's lips, "Oh God. I...Sam I'm going to be a dad."  
  
Samantha held on to his hand. "You'll make a wonderful dad."   
  
The joy that entered Thomas's heart was stalled by the realization that there was bad news looming. "Okay now tell me the bad news."  
  
"Shauna's life is going to change and her pregnancy complicates it. She lost a good deal of blood, which may affect the baby when it's born. Right now it has left Shauna very weakened and susceptible to other problems. I want her to quit work and stay home mostly for the next few months until she heals and has the baby."  
  
Thomas's mind was already churning. "That's okay doctor. Shauna will move in with me, I'll take care of her and the baby- she won't have to do a thing."  
  
Samantha asked, "Will she eventually fully recover?"  
  
The doctor smiled, "With time and love, yes I believe she will."  
  
+++++  
  
The rest of the day moved quickly along. Franklin Podena's reign of terror seemed to be at an end again at least for the present time. The city went back to it's normal routine- as normal as it could be given the circumstances. And in the chaos of the city, at one hospital five souls dealt with the future.  
  
Martin's guilt was still weighing on his conscious. He had a need to upload unnecessary burdens on himself and hadn't acquired yet the ability to let them go. He was sad, lonely and miserable. He didn't have Samantha; he didn't have an important role at work- he was just floating through life trying to be like everyone else. Trying to be charismatic and a good boss like Jack. Trying to be full of life like Danny. But all he could be was Martin. The plain potato chip compared to the barbeque or cheddar ones. Given the choice everyone always would go for the more exotic ones- not the plain, old, nothing special. Did he need to be someone else to be happy? He wondered but how does one go about being someone else? He had tried that and failed. He couldn't compete with the others. And that was when he knew what he must do.  
  
++++  
  
Meanwhile Samantha's head was leaning on Jack's shoulder in the hospital waiting room. She was nearly asleep, listening to Jack's breath and feeling his warmth penetrate through his shoulder to her face. She only felt at peace when she was like this. She nearly missed something he said- her mind was half asleep.   
  
"When the divorce is done I want to share a place with you."  
  
Her eyes flittered open, "Jack what did you say?"  
  
Jack kissed the top of her head. "I want to move in with you. I want us to start building a real life together. And I want it happen soon."  
  
Samantha lifted her head and turned to gaze into his eyes. "My apartment is small but..."  
  
"Maybe we can get a place together- a new place, a fresh start for us." He pushed back her hair with his hand just as he did the day on the bench when he said it was over. Except this time it wasn't over, it had just begun.  
  
"I like that Jack," she said with a huge smile. Part of her still worried that something or someone would upset the apple cart but she knew she needed to enjoy the gift of being together now.  
  
His lips touched hers and they kissed passionately but with reserve for they were in a public place.   
  
"Remember what Tommy said a while ago?" Jack asked breathing into her ear.  
  
"What's that?" She whispered back.  
  
"A jack and spade belong together just like in a deck of cards."  
  
They both laughed at the absurdity of the statement.  
  
++++  
  
Thomas smiled down upon Shauna. She looked so small- test tubes hooked up to her, her small frame nested under the layers of blankets. He ran his fingers along her arm. She wouldn't awaken for another few hours but he couldn't resist touching her flesh.  
  
"I love you," he said even though he knew she couldn't hear him. "You are my Juliet, my Jane. My life didn't begin until I met you and without you in it, it would end. I'll take care of you; protect you as much as I can from sonic waves and Podena. I promise to take care of our baby even if alien genes might have been implanted in it. I'm yours forever, Shauna."  
  
++++  
  
Franklin Podena looked at the paper placed in front of his nose with disdain and some amount of unbelievable shock.  
  
"She's alive Podena and so is Samantha. You're plan, bud, failed," Danny said cracking a smile.  
  
Vivian added, "You used innocent people to set up your fiasco. You killed twenty and maimed 13 all for revenge. But you didn't get what you really wanted. I wonder how that makes you feel?" Vivian felt like throttling the physco herself.  
  
The reality of the failure once again sank into him. "It was the people I asked, they missed this up, the piss ants. The nest time I won't lose."  
  
"Oh, Franklin," Danny began, "There won't be a next time. From know on you don't get any visitor unless they are wearing a badge- a police or FBI badge."  
  
Podena tried to grab at the young agent but the ropes that held his arms kept him far away.  
  
"Have a nice night," Danny said with a laugh.  
  
"Sweet dreams of your future in hell," Viv called out to him as she left behind Danny.  
  
Podena would have cried if he had tears left inside of him. This is the worst day of my life, he said to himself. He didn't know how worse it was going to get when three weeks later he awoke one morning to find a gun pointed at his face.  
  
"You..." was the first word he was able to get out of his suddenly dry mouth.  
  
To be continued... 


	10. Chapter 10

Title: Touchstone  
  
Chapter: 10  
  
Author: Evidence  
  
Rating: PG-13  
  
Author's Notes: It's finally done. For those of you who stuck with this WIP- THANK YOU, I really appreciate it. Thanks also to D and Maple Street.  
  
++++  
  
"What the..." Podena began to say staring at the nozzle of the gun pointed at him.   
  
"Shut up," Martin Fitzgerald replied, "I'm the one speaking now."  
  
"You can't do this- you're a Fed." Podena nearly snickered.  
  
"A Fed that you could have killed," Martin's eyes tensed. "You'll keep coming back unless someone does something to stop you."  
  
"Oh and are you the appointed person to do that?" Podena laughed. "I did enough research on you, you weak willed piss ant. You aren't going to do nothing. So stop trying to scare someone who doesn't give a fuck."  
  
Martin looked down at the man lying in the bed. He had to do something; he had to make his life mattered somehow. He could hear the voices of the people who were injured or killed from the blast around him. Their haunting cries kept him awake most nights. Jack had put him on leave due to the failure of his psychological testing. Everything was swirling out of control and the man who started it was right in front of him laughing at him.  
  
Martin squeezed the trigger.  
  
++++  
  
Thomas handed her a glass of cold milk and sat down beside her on the plaid couch in his ...correction their apartment. Shauna was healing quickly and the baby was doing its part to be born normal. Thomas had never lived with anyone except his family so this was a whole new experience for him. An experience he was loving more than he thought he would.   
  
"We have to start thinking about baby names," Shauna said, putting her head on his shoulder.  
  
"We have some time. No alien names, please."  
  
Shauna hide a smile from him. "Oh darn and I wanted Kristoc."  
  
"He's not bothering you is he?"  
  
"Um...no, I just made up the name."  
  
Thomas sighed. "Oh I knew a Kristoc once...what a prick."  
  
"Okay so other than no alien names what name do you want for the baby?" Shauna tried to right the conversation back on topic.  
  
"If it's a boy Jack or Samuel. If it's a girl Samantha."  
  
"Yeah but we already have pets named that." Shauna wasn't against the names but she wanted to be a separate entity from the couple.  
  
"Um...I don't know. What are you leaning towards?"  
  
"How about Rochester or Heathcliff for a boy and for a girl Jane or Ophelia?"  
  
Thomas kissed the top of her head. "Not on your life."  
  
They both erupted with laughter and forget about names or the game show they were watching as they kissed.  
  
++++  
  
He had thought he could figure out how to put the bed together himself but alas Jack Malone was not king of the bed makers. "Damn it!" he yelled again.  
  
Samantha sighed as she stopping arraigning books on the oak bookcase they had just bought for their place. Their place, what a fresh new concept. Not Sam's apartment, or Jack's office, or the Motel 6...their place. A place with no quick departure, no hiding, no pretending not to know its location.  
  
They had found an expensive but lovely loft on the upper west side. There were several rooms that made up their happy abode. A modern, fairly large, kitchen decorated in black and white which they "christened" for lack of a better word the night they moved in was bright and airy. The bathroom was dual vanity and sprinkled with green flicks on white walls. In the living room, Jack's favorite possession hung on the wall: a black and white photo of the New York Yankees when the greats, Mantle, DiMaggio, Bera all played. The living room was large and open, decorated in deep blues and a flowered couch. The girls had their own bedroom to share which Vivian had helped Sam paint so that it resembled a flower garden. The master bedroom was small compared to the kitchen and living room but large enough to house a queen bed and a dresser for each of them. Jack had agreed to the rose wallpapering even though he preferred paint but it made Samantha happy so it was worth sleeping with he roses.  
  
"Jack, do you need my help?" Sam asked entering the bedroom.  
  
"I'll get the damn thing- if the guys who had assembled had done the job right we wouldn't have had the problem last night."  
  
Sam chuckled at the memory. After falling asleep in each other's arms they found themselves and the mattress on the floor: the boards holding the mattress in place had come loose.   
  
"Maybe you shouldn't have taken the whole thing apart."  
  
Jack shook the screwdriver in his hand. "I'll fix it. I figure out the fucking damn thing."  
  
"Well you better. Where are we going to sleep tonight if not." Samantha folded her arms.  
  
"We have the floor."  
  
"I'm not sleeping all night on the floor, carpet or not."  
  
"The bathtub," he replied going back to his work.  
  
"I think not."  
  
"The kitchen."  
  
"No."  
  
"We have slept in there before," he said with a smile.  
  
"We weren't sleeping Jack..."  
  
He was up in a flash, his lips on hers. Her arms went around his back. Quickly he lifted her and brought her down on the rose colored carpet.  
  
"See the floor isn't that bad," Jack said kissing her again.  
  
She laughed.  
  
They soon where interrupted by the phone ringing.  
  
"Damn phone!" Jack yelled into the hallway. "I'll be right back stay just as you are."   
  
Sam smiled at him and watched him leave into the living room. His voice drifted back into the bedroom making her sit up and quickly began to rebutton her shirt.  
  
"I'll be right there," he finished off saying before she entered into the living room.  
  
"What happened?" she asked seeing the look in his eyes.  
  
"Franklin Podena was shot today."  
  
"What? How? By who?"  
  
"Martin."  
  
Sam could feel her month open. "Martin shot him?"  
  
Jack nodded. "He used his badge to get into Podena's room and then he shot him. Luckily for Martin, Podena will live."  
  
"My God, Jack, why would he do this!"  
  
Jack sat on the edge of the couch. "He failed his physiological evaluation so I put him on leave but I didn't take his badge or gun."  
  
"Jack, I thought Martin went on a vacation..."  
  
"I know, I was trying to protect him but...damn I screwed up and now Martin's career is in he toilet."  
  
"Maybe not. If he failed his evaluation maybe his lawyer can argue post traumatic stress. Jack, are you going to be in trouble?" The concern was written on her face.   
  
Jack pulled Samantha to him. "It wouldn't matter if I was. As long as I'm with you, that's all I need. You're my touchstone."  
  
The end. 


End file.
